Needle holder



N. DE SIMONE May 6, 1958 NEEDLE HOLDER Filed Nov. 22, 1955 IN VEN TOR.

Ma /04 45 OES/MOA/E BY WM)! United StatesPatem NEEDLE HOLDER Nicholas De Simone, Ashtabula, Ohio Application November'22, 1955, Serial No. 548,413 g i 3 Claims. or. 112-226) This invention relates to needle holders for sewing machines and in particular to a multiple needle holder for use on any conventional sewing machine.

The varied types of articles which are sewed or stitched on a sewing, machine often require threads having different colors, weights or compositions. The conventional sewing machine equipped with a single needle supplied with thread from a-spool that ismounted on the machine remote from the needle is limited to use of one kind of thread at a time and must be rethreaded every time a different type of thread is required for successive sewing operations. In some instances, it'may be desired to use one color of thread on a portion of the length of a single line stitch and a different color of-thread on the remainder of the stitch. To accomplish this, present sewing machine construction requires interruption of the sewing operation, removing-the thread of one color from the "machine and rethreading the machine with thread of another color. This is a time-consuming, eye-straining and generally troublesome procedure.

My'invention avoids these difliculties through the provision of an adjustable holder for a plurality of sewing needles, each of which carries its own thread. The holder is readily adjusted to move any one of the several needles into sewing position and thereby enables the use of several types of threads in the same or diiferent sewing operations without necessitating rethreading of the machine. i

A primary object of my invention is to provide a multiple needle holder that is readily attachable to con ventional sewing machines. Another object is to provide a multiple needle holder which is adjustable to position any one of several separately threaded needles in sewing relation with respect to the goods being sewed so that a different thread can be used without necessitating rethreading of the machine. A further object is the provision of a multiple needle holder which permits straight line stitching with a plurality of ditferent colored threads. A more specific object is to provide means for adapting a sewing machine for quickly and accurately stitching along a straight line with different colored threads. Still another object is the provision of a sewing machine needle holder which can be adjusted to selectively move one of several individually threaded sewing needles into sewing position without danger of entangling the threads. Another object is the provision of a multiple sewing needle holder that is compact and which can be fitted on a sewing machine without substantial modification of the machine.

These and other objects of my invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of my improved needle holder connected to the needle bar of a sewing machine.

Figure 2 is an elevation similar to Figure 1 showing ice the holder as adjusted to present another needle in sewmg position. t

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the needle holder taken online 3.3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a'schematic drawing of a piece of goods on which a straight line two color stitch is made according to my invention. 1

Briefl my invention comprises a holder from which a plurality of sewing needles project radially and in a common vertical plane with respect to the goods being stitched. The holder is connected to the lower end of the needle bar ofthe sewing machine and can be pivoted about a horizontal axis relative to the needle bar when adjustment is desired for selectively swinging any one of the several needles into sewing position perpendicular to the goods being stitched.

Referring now to the drawings, a preferred embodiment of my invention is illustrated as a generally L-shaped needle support member 10 mounted on the lower end of a vertically reciprocable needle bar 12 of a sewing machine by a pivot stud 13 which extends outwardly from the bar and through the support member which is detachably held thereon by a wing nut 14 on the outer end of the pivot stud. Member 10 is designed to carry a pair of needles 16 and 17 which project outwardly from the member and which have eyelets at their outer ends for receiving sewing threads 18 and 19, respectively, which are fed from supply spools, not shown, on the sewing machine remote from the needles and with which the sewing is accomplished. In order to hold needles 16 and 17 in angularly spaced relation to each other, legs 21 and 22 of the sup- 1 port member have bores 24 and 25, respectively, formed on axes which lie in a common vertical plane V and which intersect at the pivotal axis A of the member 10. The shanks of needles l6 and 17 are disposed in these bores and are releasably held therein by lock screws 27 and 28, respectively. I

Support member 10 preferably is flat-sided as shown. In order to securely position the member on the needle bar 12, I prefer to form a fiat surface 30 and a shoulder 31 on the bar so that the member 10 has full surface contact with the bar and with the edges 33 and 34 of legs 21 and 22 alternately abutting the shoulder at the limit of pivotal adjustment of support member 10.

In operation, with member 10 mounted on the needle bar and fitted with individually threaded needles 16 and 'l 17, nut 14 is loosened and member 10 is pivoted about axis A relative to needle bar 12 to orient needle 17 in perpendicular relation to the plane of the goods G to be stitched, see Figure 1, and wing nut 14 is tightened to secure the member in this position. The sewing machine is then operated and needle bar 12 reciprocates in the direction of the arrow causing needle 17 and thread 19 to sew a stitch in the goods G which is moved under the needle as indicated by the arrow in Figure 1. When it is desired to sew the same or other goods with thread 18, which may have a color or weight different from thread 19, the machine is stopped, needle bar 12 is moved to the upper position until needle 17 is spaced above the goods, thread 19 between the needle and the goods is severed, wing nut 14 is loosened, and member 10 is pivoted about axis A through counterclockwise as viewed in Figure 1, to move needle 16 from the inoperative position shown in Figure 1 to an operative or sewing position perpendicular to the plane of the goods as illustrated in Figure 2. Needle 17 thus is moved to the horizontal or inoperative position, and, with nut 14 retightened to lock member 10 in the new position, the machine is started and sewing of the goods may be resumed or begun with the other thread 18.

It will be noted that the needles 16 and 17 lie in the Patented May 6, 1958 common vertical plane V, see Figure 3, and accordingly when the member is pivoted to move a difierent needle and thread into sewing position, the latter needle occupies the same position relative to goods G as did the former needle. If a straight line stitch S, see Figure 4, is being sewed on goods G with one thread 19 and it is desired to complete the stitch with a different thread 18, the operator merely stops the machine at the appropriate place onpthe goods, pivots needle support member 10 about its axis to bring needle 16 with thread 13 into the sewing position, see Figure 2, and starts the machine to complete the stitch. It will be noted that this change of stitching thread does not involve rethreading of the machine and the goods G remain in the same position under the needlerbar so that a continuous straight line stitch is made.

In order to guide threads 18 and 19 along needle support member 10 to the ends of the needles, I prefer to form a pair of intersecting thread guide grooves 35 and 36 along the outer side of the support member, each groove extending in the direction of the particular needle which is supplied with thread passing through that groove. These grooves 35 and 36 intersect adjacent a thread entry point 37 on the member 10 adjacent pivot axis A thereof and remote from the needles, and the threads are guided separately to the needles from this point. .The possibility .of entanglement of the threads incident to pivotal adjustment of .the member 10 thus is eliminated.

While I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention as a needle holder for two needles, it-will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the holder may be provided with more than twoneedles without departing from the precepts of my invention. The scope of my invention is defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A needle holder for a sewing machine having a reciprocable needle bar, comprising a needle support member pivotally connected to the end portion of said bar, said member having a plurality of needle receiving bores having axes intersecting at the pivotal axis of said member, means on said member for looking a needle in each of said bores, said member having a plurality of thread guide grooves corresponding to the number of said bores, each groove extending from a thread entry point on saidmember adjacent said pivotal axis and in the direction of the axis of the associated needle bore for guiding a thread toward the needle supported in the bore.

2. In a sewing machine, a vertically reciprocable needle bar having a fiat surface adjacent the lower end thereof,

a flat sided needle support member pivotally connected to said bar with one side of said member juxtaposed with said surface, means for locking said member in a plurality of angularly displaced positions relative to said bar, said member having a plurality of needle receiving bores having axes lying in the plane parallel to the direction of reciprocation of said bar, the axes of said bores extending radially from the pivotal axis of said member, means for releasably looking a sewing needle in each of said bores, the other side of said member opposite said one side thereof having thread guide grooves formed therein, said grooves intersecting adjacent the'pivotal axis of said member and extending in the direction of said bores, respectively, for guiding individual threads to the respective needles in said bores, said member being pivotally adjustable relative to said bar to position any one of said bores and the needle therein to extend downwardly and parallel to the direction of reciprocation of said bar.

3. A needle holder for a sewing machine having a reciprocable needle bar, said needle holder comprising a needle support member adapted to be pivotally connected to the end portion of said bar for pivoting about an axis transverse to the direction of reciprocation of said bar, means for releasably locking said member in selected angular positions relative to said bar and means for limiting the angular displacement, in either direction of said member, said support member having a pair of mutually perpendicular bores extending radially outwardly from said axis for respectively receiving and supporting sewing needles, said member also having a pair of thread-guide grooves extending from a thread entry point adjacent said pivot to adjacent the ends, respectively, of said bores for dividing and guiding a pair ofithreads respectively to the needle supported in said bores, said last named means comprising a shoulder on said bar adjacent said support member and a pair of flat perpendicular surfaces on said support member, each said surface being parallel with one said bore and perpendicular to the other said bore and adapted to engage said shoulder, and said bores being disposed within the acute angle formed by said surfaces.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,276,950 Onderdonk Aug. 27, 1918 2,319,829 Russell May 25, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS 51,878 Norway Dec. 19, 1932 

